Pattie Boyd, the former fashion model and ex-wife of Eric Clapton and George Harrison, has sold her memorabilia collection, including intimate letter from both, for more than $3 million. In a well-publicized love triange, Boyd was married to Harrison for more than a decade after they wed in 1966 before they divorced and she married Clapton, Harrison’s close friend and collaborator, in 1979.
Boyd made her mark as a muse to both Clapton and Harrison, serving as the creative inspiration behind hits including the Beatles’ “Something,” and Clapton’s “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight.” In one of the auctioned letters, Clapton addresses a letter to Boyd — or Layla, as he endearingly called her.
“I am writing this letter to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings towards a subject well known to both of us,” it began.
“What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband?” he continued. “All these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!”
“Don’t telephone! Send a letter… That is much safer.”
The letters between Boyd and her former husbands are dated throughout the ’60s and ’70s at the height of both musicians’ careers. There’s a letter from Clapton dated January 1971 on the title page torn from a copy of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.” Also, the original handwritten lyrics for Harrison’s “Mystical One” sold for £47,800 and a photograph of the Beatles in India in 1968 sold for £52,920.
Other rock history treasures in Boyd’s collection include the original artwork Clapton chose for the cover of Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.”
The collection sold for a total of £2,818,184 at Christie’s London headquarters on March 15, according to a report from the Guardian.
“I am completely blown away by the enthusiasm of international bidders for these special treasures that I have always loved,” Boyd said at the auction. “I am so happy that new hearts will now enjoy them, as they enter into their next ‘chapters.’ I am lucky that my life today continues to bring me joy and different adventures – I would encourage people to follow their passions and live their lives with gusto.”
